


A Galaxy So Close To Home

by officiallyhuckleberry



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:57:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8020108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officiallyhuckleberry/pseuds/officiallyhuckleberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In eighth grade, they learnt that they weren't the centre of the universe, now that they are Freshman in college, how will they grasp the broader concept of how space duplicates what they mean to each other.</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>Lucas and Maya and what it really means to be home.</p>
<p>Lucas/Maya centric, Farkle/Smackle if you squint (basically platonic) and Riley/Zay figuring things out towards the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Big Bang

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that I've been working on for a while and have had sitting in my documents for a couple of weeks now. 
> 
> I didn't intend for it to be based around a Taylor Swift song it just kind of happened.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it xx

Chapter One - The Big Bang

~I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us,  
How we met and the sparks flew instantly,  
and people would say, "They're the lucky ones."  
I used to know my place was the spot next to you,  
Now I'm searching the room for an empty seat,  
'Cause lately I don't even know what page you're on.~

Lucas and Maya started dating in Junior Year of High School and stayed together from then until the summer before college started. They hadn’t discussed college because they didn't want to influence the others decision. This could have been what lead to the end. Maya noticed that he'd been acting off and distant since they'd graduated and so after a couple of weeks she decided that she needed to talk to him about college. 

She went to his house Friday afternoon after lunch with Riley, like she had been doing every day for the past two weeks, but this time, she was more nervous, this time, they were actually going to talk about where they were going for college and what that meant for them. 

She let herself in the front door because she knew his mama liked her but didn't like her sneaking in her sons bedroom window no matter what hour of the day or night it is. “hey ms friar, is Lucas in his room?” she expected to see Lucas’ mum in the kitchen but she wasn't in there or the lounge room so she made her way up to Lucas’ room.

This is what many would refer to the beginning of the end. She could hear loud music coming from his room some country song she would complain about but usually, let him keep playing cause it made him so happy and reminded him of home. She knew he wouldn't hear her knock so she let herself in. He had fallen asleep while writing his college checklist he had been planning for weeks, he looked so peaceful and because she knew he had been stressed lately she decided to let him sleep. So she picked up the books of the end of the bed and took the list out of his lap. Huckleberry, and his premature organization. that's when she saw it. The ~Texas A&M~ written at the top of the page. She can’t say she didn't expect it but it still shocked her a little. 

As she sat down on the bed with a million different thoughts running through her head she could feel him move next to her.

“Hey Short-stack, How long have you been there?” 

~Oh, a simple complication,  
Miscommunications lead to fall-out.  
So many things that I wish you knew,  
So many walls up I can't break through.~

She couldn't respond she didn't know how to because the only thought running through her head was you’re leaving me’ and that wasn't fair she knew that she knew he wasn't leaving her but it sure felt like it. She was going to NYU so was Zay and Riley would only be at Columbia while Smackle and Farkle are at Princeton and he was going to be so much further. she can't just drive to texas for the weekend to see him. she can walk to see Zay get on the subway to see Riley and drive to smackle and Farkle she can’t do that when he's in texas. 

Her lack of response worried him, he followed her eye line to the pile of books in her hands to see what was bothering her, that's when he noticed the paper. 

“Maya I-” 

“You’re leaving. I'm going to NYU and you’re going to be 1,639 miles away” was all she could get out and that was the last thing she wanted to say but it was true. even if he wasn’t specifically leaving her he was still leaving and she couldn’t deny that. She also couldn't stop the silent tear that ran down her cheek. He sat up against the wall and she pushed herself back so she was right next to him. Neither of them could look at each other but he tried to explain.

“I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you for a while now” he started while moving to hold on to her hand.

“I thought you were at NYU because I know Riley’s going to Columbia and neither of you has complained too much about the distance between you so I just thought you’d be here. Originally I thought that’d make it easier for me to tell you. Knowing that Zay was at NYU and Riley at Columbia, hell even Smack and Farkle aren't that far and once I knew that I though great you’d be with everyone that maybe when I left it wouldn't feel like it was so far. Then I realized how close everyone was to each other and how far I was and then I didn’t know how to deal with it myself let alone drag you into it with me.”

~Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?  
I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,  
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.~ 

Maya wanted to tell him it was okay and that they’d work it out but she knew that if she opened her mouth she’d just start crying harder and she couldn't do that to him or herself.

He took a long pause and she could tell he wasn’t sure what to say next. the tears ran faster down her cheeks and she was positive that right now her saying anything was not an option, she wasn’t ready to say what she had to. she wasn’t ready to know when he was leaving. She sat while no one said anything and waited for him to keep talking and tell her how he was feeling. And when he did it broke her heart a little.

“I need to go h-home Maya, I've been gone for so long. who knows if I'll stay after college, who knows if I’ll hate it. But I need to know i- I need to go.”

~How'd we end up this way?  
See me nervously pulling at my clothes and trying to look busy,  
And you're doing your best to avoid me.  
I'm starting to think one day I'll tell the story of us,  
How I was losing my mind when I saw you here,  
But you held your pride like you should've held me.~

She could hear him crying now and she knew he’d finished explaining and it was her turn to talk so she let her tears run as she asked

“When do you leave?” fuck that word again she wasn't sure she was capable of any other thought.

He didn’t say anything he just turned his head away from her and played with her fingers. she was getting worried now.

“Lucas, When do you leave?” 

He stuttered and paused before saying “Wednesday”

She had gathered her thoughts a bit by then but that startled her for a bit before she made the connection. But even then she refused to believe him.

“no I don- I don’t mean to visit your dad Lucas. I-I mean for college. when do you leave for college?”

She was sobbing now she couldn’t do it. he had to mean for his visit not forever.

~Oh, I'm scared to see the ending,  
Why are we pretending this is nothing?  
I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how,  
I've never heard silence quite this loud.~

he turned to face her now, crying as much if not more than her when he said what would break her the one thing she didn't want him to say she wanted to hear anything else.

“I’m not co-coming back before college short-stack. Dad wants me to help with the farm before I start and told me I had to stay”

She ripped her hand away from him at this, she jumped off the bed to face him, some of her sadness replaced with anger. This was something she couldn’t just sit there and hear.

“How long have you known this Lucas?!” she couldn’t even stop herself now she was angry beyond belief. 

He just sat there for at least a minute not saying anything.

~Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?  
I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,  
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.

“Lucas! How long have you known?!”~ 

“Two Months. I could-” she interrupted him. pacing around the room was not going to let off all the anger she’d built up now.

“You’ve known for over two months that you weren't coming back from texas?! you just let me sit there and talk about what I wanted to do once you got back before we had to go to college, all the dates I wanted us to go on and time I wanted us to spend together and you knew we wouldn’t get any of it?!” 

By now she was standing right in front of him looking him in the eyes. she could feel the tears running down her neck and she could see his streaming down his and god did she hate seeing him cry it was one of her least favorite things in the world but she couldn’t do anything about it now.

He felt the same. seeing her crying broke his heart and knowing he caused it almost killed him so he reached out to her but she just took a step back.

“I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn't want this to happen I didn't want to make you cry.” he was standing up now taking steps towards her, but she was moving back, closer towards the door. 

“yeah well you should have thought of a way sooner Lucas because this was always going to end in tears” she knows that was harsh but she could feel herself building up her walls again. starting to close him off. her hands on the door nob now facing away from him, she can feel him not that far away trying to reach out.

“I'm sorry Maya. I’m so sorry” he's sobbing so much she can barely understand but she knows what he’s saying, he's sorry he didn't tell her, he's sorry he’s leaving New York, he's sorry he's leaving her. She believes him, she really does but it's still happening and she can’t change that, neither can he. 

~This is looking like a contest,  
Of who can act like they care less,  
But I liked it better when you were on my side.  
So many things that you wish I knew,  
But the story of us might be ending soon.~

He’s breaking and so is she and this is killing them both but they know she has to leave because if she doesn't leave now then she gets left again and she needs the control she has to get away and he can’t stop her now.

~The battle's in your hands now,  
But I would lay my armor down  
If you said you'd rather love than fight.~

“I know huckleberry I know you are” she says without turning around to face him she can’t. He can't let that be the last thing she says to him.

“I Love You” he whispers as she opens the door and takes a step out of his room.

She looks at him one last time as she walks away.

“I love you too” then she runs. 

~So many things that you wish I knew,  
But the story of us might be ending soon. 

She runs away from him down the stairs and past ms friar who try to stop her to ask why she's crying.

she runs out of the house.~

she runs past Riley's house and past her house all until she's standing in the middle of central park and people are giving her weird looks because she sobbing and she's breaking

she remembers that this is what her father leaving felt like but she's older now and she knows that's unreasonable but she can't help it. 

So she sits in the middle of central park and she cry’s until she doesn't have any tears left and the sun is going down.

~Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?  
I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,  
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now, now, now.~

She makes the decision that she was alone for long enough so she goes to Riley's. She climbs through the bay window but she isn’t there.

Maya's standing in the doorway to the kitchen and the Matthews family turn to look at her and she realizes that she has a few tears left. As they start to fall Riley is up from the table seconds after, dragging her to her room and away from the eyes of her family and she cries and cries and all Riley has to say is

“oh peaches, what happened?” and Maya knows, but she doesn't think she can go through it again tonight. So they eat ice cream and they watch sad movies and go to bed and she tells Riley she’ll tell her in the morning because right now she just needs to be with her best friend.

When they wake up the next day she tells Riley everything, Riley wants to go give Lucas a piece of her mind for telling his girlfriend he's leaving only 5 days before but Maya won’t let her.

Everyone goes to say goodbye to Lucas on Wednesday, Riley begs Maya to come and she gets as far as the airport carpark before opting to stay in the car. she tells Riley to say goodbye for her and she waits in the car and cries. she asks them all not to give him a hard time that she doesn’t care if she's mad they don’t have to be.

~And we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?~

Riley says Zay punched him any way called him ‘a big Texas idiot’ before bursting into tears and saying he’ll miss him. She knows the feeling. She's got 7 unopened texts from him in the past hour but she won't respond until she knows he’s on the plane so she can’t change her mind and run into the airport. She knows this isn’t what she wants but its what she has to do for him and for her.

~I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate 'cause we're going down,~

“He pulled me to the side to talk to me once I got in there, asked me if you were coming i-” Riley hesitates. I could tell she wasn’t sure if she should tell me what he said or not.

“I told him you weren’t, I said you tried but you thought it was best you waited in the car. He got that puppy dog look on his face that he used to get every time you were off school sick or couldn’t come to game night because you had family stuff. It's the same look from when we were kids” even though she had managed to stop crying before Riley got back she could feel her eyes glass over again. 

“He said he understood and he’d try to text you again once he landed. I didn’t bother telling him not to, nothing would have changed his mind” even Riley looked like she was going to start crying now. 

“told me to tell you he was sorry and that he was going to keep telling you that even if you never forgave him. told me to tell you he loved you. I told him I knew you loved him too and you can’t tell me off because it's true I know its true and so do you.” they were both crying now sitting in the airport carpark.

Nothing needed to be said after that. she sent him a text, at this point Maya didn’t care if he was on the plane or not because if he wasn't she was willing to run into that airport so fast. when she opened his messages it was a mixture of I’m sorry and I love you and one long one explaining himself the only response she could think of was ‘i know I love you too. have a safe flight’ but the iMessage never delivered and Riley was driving away from the airport.

~And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.~

she could see the plane take off before her vision blurred with tears. she thinks it was his but she doesn't really know. they all went back to Riley's sitting in her room crying as a group. She kept thinking how sad that was but they didn’t know what else to do. They talked for hours about memories and all the trips they had and amazing times they shared together. Everyone's going on vacation soon or busy preparing for college so Maya guessed they were all thinking the same thing that they needed to get it out now. After a while, everyone but Maya stopped crying but they started talking about Lucas specifically and she couldn’t hold it in. 

As she left Riley’s she felt her phone vibrate. It hadn’t been going off as much because Lucas had been on the plane. His message read “I really am sorry, please don’t forget how much I love you. I'm back on the farm now, doesn't feel so much like home anymore” She broke down again at that. But she didn’t know how to respond, so she didn't.

~The end.~


	2. The Force of Expansion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas is back. How will his feelings about Texas change everything for them?  
> A continuation of... In eighth grade, they learnt that they weren't the centre of the universe, now that they are Freshman in college, how will they grasp the broader concept of how space duplicates what they mean to each other.
> 
> or
> 
> Lucas and Maya and what it really means to be home.
> 
> Lucas/Maya centric, Farkle/Smackle if you squint (basically platonic) and Riley/Zay figuring things out towards the end.

Chapter Two - The Force of Expansion

Maya starts college on the first of September, exactly 2 months after Lucas left. She hasn’t properly spoken to him since he left but he sends her a message at least once a week if not every day. She’s only responded twice, never tells him to stop though because she thinks that if he did, that would break her heart completely. She knows it's selfish and she knows she played a part in this but she struggles with letting him go. Riley keeps him updated as to how she’s going and what she’s doing. She says she doesn’t but she heard them on the phone talking about her and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

On the first of October, it has been three months. Zay keeps trying to get her to come to a frat party with him that night but she knows she’ll get too drunk and do something she’ll regret. 

It happens again on the first of November and December. Some annual party to kick off each month. She still hasn’t been and doesn't plan on going. Lucas still texts her at least once a week, he says sorry a lot less than he used to. She’s glad because she doesn’t want him to feel bad about it forever, she doesn't quite know how to tell him that. She has now text him back a total of 5 times. She realized that he texts weekly and she's gotten into some weird monthly routine of letting him know she's safe and she hopes he’s okay. Communication used to be one of their strong points and it looks like the minute that failed so did everything else.

Maya knows she definitely is not getting out of Riley's New Year's party when you shows up at her apartment at 9am demanding she gets out of bed and gets her shit together because they’re party shopping.

“Mayyyyaaaaaaaaa, please I need help with decorations and food supply. I know that you haven’t gone to any of the parties Zay has tried to get you to go to but you’re not missing out on New Years.” 

Maya groaned but rolled out of bed anyway to get dressed while Riley ran off to call Zay. Squealing about how she’d succeeded.

“Ready to go?” Riley asked when Maya walked out of her room.

“Yeah, but I know you only want me for my fake ID,” Maya said rolling her eyes and grabbing her keys and jacket before leaving.

“hey, your fake is only part of the reason I need you” Riley whined, never one to joke about how much she needed Maya and how much she loved her.

That’s why 12 hours later Maya started getting ready to go to Riley's new years eve party, where she was going to spend the entire time in the corner wondering if she should send Lucas a Happy New Years Message or not. She noticed the rain outside. All day they had been predicting snow to ring in the new year but it appears they’ll be raining in the new year.

Maya had showered and got dressed and was putting make-up on as it hit 10 fully aware that she was delaying going and was going to be late but she was not going to let Riley down or go back on her promise to be there, she would be at that party even if it killed her.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door. Presuming it was either Riley, Farkle, Smackle or Zay to come and make sure she showed up she rushed to the door so they wouldn't be standing in the freezing rain that was still bucketing down. But when she opened the door it was the last person she expected to see standing there completely drenched.

~Stand there like a ghost shaking from the rain (rain).  
She'll open up the door and say, "Are you insane ('ane)?"  
Say it's been a long 6 months  
And you were too afraid to tell her what you want.~

“Lucas” Maya was completely shocked. She knew Riley invited him but he had declined, saying he would still be in Texas. So what the fuck was he doing standing at her door in the pouring rain at 10 o’clock on New Year's Eve. 

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked as she dragged him inside. he was completely saturated and shaking like crazy.

“About 15 minutes contemplating whether I knocked or ran in the other direction” he tried to joke but with the door closed and the only other sounds being her breathing and the downpour of rain outside, it fell flat. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you we’re going to be here Lucas? I could have just seen you at Riley's party.”   
Then she realized. 

“Wait does she know you’re here? Does Riley know you’re here?” Maya was starting to feel set up.

“Riley knows I’m here they all do. They told you I wasn’t because she thought if she told you, you wouldn't come to her party and you’d run and hide. and Based on the way you keep glancing at the door I’d say she was right.” she feels like a deer caught in headlights. she is going to kill Riley. But first, he clearly has a lot more to say and she can feel herself start to choke up before either of them have started properly talking

“the past six months have been the worst thing that has ever happened to me.” he stepped toward her but she stepped back. Tomorrow would be six months since she ran and he left. since miscommunication ruined them.

“I told you I was going to Texas because I needed to go home” again he stepped forward and she stepped back. she realized that the wall was fast approaching cause he had long legs and she had a small apartment. 

“I thought I needed to go home bu-” She had to interrupt him because him going home was not the problem.

“Lucas I didn’t run because you wanted to go home. you had every right to go home” she tried to stay strong but she was avoiding eye contact, she couldn't watch him cry.

“I know that I know that wasn't the problem but I just have to tell you. You have to know how wrong I was” she wasn’t sure where he was going with this but for the first time in 6 months, she could feel hope building in her chest.

~And that's how it works.  
That's how you get the girl.  
And then you say,~

“Texas isn’t home any more Maya, I've been gone too long people have changed everything is different now. I don't know if it's because everything really has changed or because I’ve changed, but Texas isn’t where I want to be anymore.” He takes a step forward and this time, she doesn’t step back. she lets him get closer, she starts to tap on the walls she built inside herself six months ago and learns that maybe they weren't as strong as she thought. 

“Wherever you are is home short-stack. wherever the people I love and the people I care about is home and that's New York. That's NYU and Columbia, Home right now is Riley’s rooftop, home is in this apartment right now here with you and wherever you go from here on out.” The tears are streaming faster now but she's managed to make eye contact with him and when he reaches out to grab her hand she lets him.

~"I want you for worse or for better,  
I would wait forever and ever,  
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together.  
I would wait forever and ever.”~

And this is how it begins again. Maya knows that doesn't fix everything, she knows that doesn’t change the fact that when he left he took her heart with him and broke it. He know's that too. But she needs to speak now.

“When I knew you were leaving, I thought it would be easier to leave first” she's stuttering and crying but she has to tell him.

“I thought that by running out of that room and running all the way to a central park and then getting to the airport but not going in to watch you leave meant that every time you tried to leave me, I left first. I thought that would be easier for me, but it still felt like you were leaving and my heart still broke when you left because not only were you leaving but I was leaving you and I know how that feels and I know it hurt you and that is something I swore I would never do” they haven’t broken eye contact this entire time, neither of them was able to stop the tears.

“and you know me. I'm stubborn and even after I knew what I was doing wasn’t right I kept doing it I kept pushing you away. I responded to 5 of your 50 million messages because I'm so fucking stubborn” they both get a laugh out of that and move closer together.

“I’m so sorry Lucas” she’s said all she can for now because her words are becoming incomprehensible as her tears come faster. Lucas steps forward and drops her hand to hold not her face with both hands and wipe some of her tears away, doing nothing to stop his own.

“You have nothing to apologize for Maya. I left. I was moving to fucking Texas and only told you 5 days before. You protected yourself which is what I should have been doing and I can’t forgive myself for that. I should never have let you run out that door. I should have followed you. I should have tried harder. But I couldn’t because I knew that it would just make leaving harder which is something that at that point I couldn’t change. Leaving you was the worst possible thing I could have done.”

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl...  
Oh.~

They had both reached a point that talking wasn't an option. They were 45 minutes late to Riley and they still had so much more to say so if they were going to make it to Riley’s by midnight they needed to compose themselves more and talk through a few things. 

She sat leaning against the headboard of her bed while he sat cross-legged facing her, neither of them knew where to start.

“I’m transferring to NYU” Maya shot up at that.

“What do you mean Lucas? Texas was your dream” she couldn’t let him give up his dream. they could sort this out while he was here he didn’t need to move schools just because Maya overreacted and he felt guilty.

“Texas WAS my dream. It isn’t anymore. It's not what I thought it was going to be. Texas was my dream when I didn’t know that leaving everyone I love for a school in texas because I thought it was home was a good idea. Texas doesn’t feel like home and NYU is right here. Exactly where I want to be.” She was glad he was doing it for his happiness and she was glad his happiness was in New York.

“what does your dad think?” she knew his dad wasn’t easiest man to get along with.

“he isn't happy about it but he understands and that's all I need.” she could tell they were avoiding talking about them and he could too. All the formalities were over. They both apologized they’d explained why it all happened and all the mistakes they made now they had to talk.

“miscommunication last time ruined us.” she thought the best way to start was at the route of their problem.

“we didn't talk about college because we didn’t want to influence each other and that was one of the worst things we could have done for each other. I don’t want to loose you again Lucas, and I know I pushed you away but I won’t. I regret it so much and I think if were going to make us work we need to communicate how we first did. We wouldn’t have influenced each other's decisions I know I would have told you to go to texas and we could have talked about it, we could have avoided all of this. so if you want this to work as much as I do, and I can tell you that I want nothing more, you have to tell me what I need to do.” Lucas moved toward Maya again and pulled her closer so that she was basically in his lap.

“I agree with you entirely and the first thing I need you to do is stop calling me Lucas. I’m Huckleberry. always have been always will be.” she could see the love in his eyes she could feel the warmth in his voice.

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl…~

“okay huckleberry, what's the second thing I can do?” their foreheads were pressed together now, she couldn’t remember a time in the past 6 months when she felt so happy and content.

“you can stop beating yourself up about this. we both make mistakes and we can argue about it until we die or we can both agree that we fucked up, me in particular and that we should probably talk more about it tomorrow but we need to stop playing the blame game because we have more important things to talk about now. Like how I get to spend the next 3 and a half years with you and hopefully whatever comes after that as well and holy shit I was an idiot for ever thinking I should be in Texas” she smiled with him not breaking eye contact for even a second. 

She wasn’t sure how long they’d been sitting there just staring at each other not saying anything because for now everything that needed to be said had already been said. his phone vibrated interrupting their trance.

She saw that it was 11:15pm and he had a message from Riley. she laughed at that, Riley was probably freaking out right now wondering if they’d killed each other or made up yet. He unlocked his phone, password still Maya and his background still the photo Farkle took of the two of them kissing in their graduation gowns from all those months ago. This time, she could feel herself tearing up for all the right reasons. God, she had missed her huckleberry.

~Remind her how it used to be (yeah, yeah)  
With pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks (cheeks)  
Tell her how you must have lost your mind. (uh-uh)  
When you left her all alone and never told her why (why).~

“We should probably go, Riley says there all freaking out and no one will start the party until we get there, she also says the stress got to Zay and his started drinking and predicting the worst.” Maya laughed standing up from the bed and holding her hand out for Lucas. Everything felt right again. She didn’t let go the entire walk to Riley. The rain and cleared but it was still freezing, even so, they took the long way so they should catch up on all that they’d missed. Despite having a shitty time apart there was sill a couple of good stories that they needed to share. 

He paused as they got to Riley’s building. She stopped and turned towards him, he had this look in his eye it was that look Riley was talking about so many months ago, the one he’s had since they were kids.

“never should have gone to Texas. Texas isn’t home” she smiled at him and he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, the feel of his lips simply on her face is something she didn’t realize she missed so much until she got it back. 

Going in the main entrance this time because it was warmer inside than climbing the metal fire escape they walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door to the roof. It was 11:40 and they still hadn’t started the music, clearly Riley was telling the truth about waiting for them. They both took a deep breath and Lucas let go of Maya's hand to put his arm around her waist.

Once they opened the door they expected to be bombarded with questions but literally every single person there was facing the fire escape waiting for them to come up that way. Maya closed the door quietly and they made their way towards them.

“at this point, I’m pretty sure one of them has killed the other” Riley stated rather matter of fact. as Maya was a couple of steps behind her she stopped and interfered.

“yeah he is pretty much dead to me” she joked. Lucas being the only one to laugh as all of them screamed and turned around running towards them. Lucas held onto her tighter and pulled her closer as everyone very excitedly started yelling. Someone turned the music on, while their 4 closest friends practically jumped on top of them.

A million question were fired at them. But they didn’t respond just waited for everyone to calm down and once they did Farkle was the first to speak.

“So Lucas how long are you in New York for?” this confused everyone looking up at Farkle who seemed slightly uncomfortable. 

“Don’t worry dude, I already told her I'm staying. Don’t want to make that mistake again.” she could see everybody physically relax at that. then Zay spoke up

“thank god man, I thought I was gonna have to beat you up again” he was slurring his word as he draped himself over Lucas’ shoulder. Clearly, the alcohol was getting to him.

Maya turned to Riley who had been suspiciously quiet this entire time, she was just looking at her with tears in her eyes.

“Honey what’s wrong?” Maya moved out of Lucas’ grasp to grab Riley's hands. she loved Lucas but she still had priority when Riley was upset.

“Nothing. nothing is wrong everything is perfect.” Maya was confused now as a massive smile broke out on Riley's face.

“I'm just so glad to see you happy again peaches. you've been so sad for so long” 

“hey, I wasn’t that bad! Was I?” smackle spoke up this time. Always one to go straight for the truth. 

“Maya you showed up at my dorm room crying in the middle of the week at least 4 times because you ‘had to drive somewhere but Texas was too farrrrr’ you were pretty bad” Maya was a little embarrassed after Smackles weirdly accurate impression of her. so she turned back into Lucas to hide her face. She could feel his chest vibrating as he laughed at her. Zay saved her from having to say anything, though.

“hey lay off Maya, Lucas called me almost every day with the same 5 questions.” Lucas had stopped laughing now and she could feel his grip tighten on her waist.

“it was always ‘is she safe? is she happy? has she seen Riley today? she needs to see Riley, Zay. if she isn't happy she has to be with Riley. Has she seen my messages? does she know I love her?’ he was like a lost Texas puppy” she looked up at him and he was already looking down at her. 

~And that's how it works.  
That's how you lost the girl.  
And now you say,~

“I told you, never should have gone to Texas like that. ruined me, ruined you, ruined us.” he held eye contact not letting go of her.

“it appears we've caused our friends some grief ranger rick” he smiled down at her and started pulling her away from the crowd of people even as their friends argued that they hadn’t told them the full story.

“oh we’ll talk about it next year, lay off!” he called back at them clearly with more important things to deal with. Once they're a little further away and the music isn’t so loud he turned to face her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“do you remember just before senior year, that night when I snuck into your bedroom window for the first time since before we started dating and we binged watched friends until the sun came up?” she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face at the memory.

“You always came through the front door, saying that you had more respect for my Mom and Shawn then to sneak through my window but the minute Shawn's out of town you’re climbing in again. You were just scared of him.” She moved her arms so they were wrapped loosely around his neck as he laughed 

“Yeah, I was, I still am actually. Your mom knew I was there anyway, came into the room in the morning and offered me breakfast, completely unfazed to see me in your bed.” she was happy to talk about this and see him smile but she had no idea why it was relevant.

“She always liked you, always trusted you. Still, does.” he looked nervous for a moment but calmed himself down to speak again.

“that isn’t exactly why I'm bringing it up. My favorite episode we watched, was one of the New Year's ones, where phoebe and David broke up because he was going to Minsk and I remember you cried as they broke up, saying how stupid David was” his arms tightened around her waist and hers around his neck 

“I don’t think like where this is going” he laughed at that and reassured her 

“don’t worry I'm going to do the opposite of that.” he leaned down further so that his forehead was touching hers.

“Two Minutes to midnight!” she could hear Riley yell in the background but was to focused on what Lucas had to say next.

“I left for Texas because that's where I thought I needed to be, I thought that in this stage of my life I needed to be back in Texas.” His eyes glassed over and she could tell he wasn’t going to cry. they’d done enough of that tonight. 

“I was wrong. I want to be here. I need to be here, in New York with you” She tightened her arms around his neck running her hand through his hair.

~"I want you for worse or for better,  
I would wait forever and ever (ever and ever),  
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together (together).  
I would wait forever and ever (ever and ever)."~

“I love you, Maya, I could never leave you. Not now that I know that it feels like having my heart ripped out of my chest I just couldn’t.” he might not be going to cry but she might.

“I Love you too Lucas” 

Riley calls out one minute to midnight but she barely hears it too focused on being here in this moment.

“It's almost midnight, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm starting this New Year here with you because I plan on Finishing it the same.” she can feel his hands tighten and a tear roll down her cheek but she has never been happier than she was in that moment.

“With you, Maya, always with you”

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl...  
Oh.~

“20 Seconds!!!” Riley’s yelling in the distance getting everyone ready for the countdown but they’re not focused on that right now. 

“I couldn’t imagine spending New Years with anyone else Huckleberry. Only ever wanted you.”

“10!”  
The countdowns started and she can hear the excitement on the roof and she can feel her heart beating with so much love

“9!”  
She moves the hand that isn’t playing with his hair, off his neck and rests it on his chest so she can feel his beating to

“8!”  
His is beating just as strong as hers is and he knows she can feel it

“7!”  
This is how she would spend the rest of the life if she could, right here in this moment with him

“6!”  
He moved his head up to kiss her on the forehead, something he always used to do before they kissed 

“5!”  
She smiled up at him when he rested his forehead back on hers 

“4!”  
He moved one hand from her waist to her check and pushed her hair out of her eyes

“3!”  
She felt a snowflake hit her cheek as he did it and slowly watched the white flakes begin to fall behind him

“2!”  
She thought it was fitting for the moment they were in. It was perfect

“1”  
“Happy New Year” he whispered before leaning in and for the first time in 6 months his mouth met hers as the years ticked over.

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl... (Yeah, yeah)~

With the fireworks going off behind them, it started off innocent but, once he pulled away from the first kiss she wasn’t going to let it end there it had been 6 months she was getting more out of him than that. So she moved her hand off of his chest so they were both in his hair and pushed up onto her toes and meet him in the middle for a far less innocent kiss.

The hand he had on her waist pulled her in until there body’s lined up perfectly and he could feel her heart beat on his chest.

He moved his mouth to deepen the kiss and the feeling of his tongue drew a moan out of her that he hadn’t heard in so long. 

Neither of them knows how long they stayed like that but a cough from behind them breaks them apart. They turn to see there 4 best friends standing behind them smiling, with the fireworks are slowly stopping and the snow falling lightly. Riley’s the first to speak

“so you’re staying?” Maya looks up at him knowing the answer but still ready to hear it again and a million times over.

He reached out for her hand and held her gaze before responding.

~And you could know (oh-oh-oh-oh)  
That I don't want you to go oh-oh.~

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” 

The night goes on. she stays as close to him as possible but he has to go see friends and there 4 best friends are desperate to hear what happens because “we didn’t spend 6 months holding their relationship together for them to not tell us what happened” according to Zay.

So Lucas walks around saying hello to everyone and Maya explains how he showed up at her place standing in the pouring rain, she tells them of all the tears shed but she keeps some of their special moments to themselves because somethings don’t need to be said. She knows Riley will be begging for more detail later but for now, she seems content with just hearing the basics.  
Zay’s crying by the time she's finished explaining it, he tries to blame it on the alcohol but they all know that wore off when Riley kissed him at midnight. Which is something her and Riley will also be talking about in full detail later?

Once Riley dragged Zay off because “Maya said communication is key Zay and we need to talk about it” and Smackle went to get a drink because “for fuck's sake I never do anything and a little underage drinking won’t kill me. The snows stopped now, it only lasted about an hour but it was fitting for the moment. She was left with Farkle and she had a couple of questions for him anyway.

“I got a couple of questions for you genius boy,” she said as they leaned against the wall facing the party.

“I thought you might. Shoot.” of course he had some plan in his head.

“Everyone tiptoed around me the past 6 Months and tried to get me to go to parties or do this and do that, but you never pushed, you never tried to get me to leave my dorm and move on you just let me be. Why?” he shoved his hands in his pocket and looked at her.

“I Remember what happened after your dad came back and left again Maya. you did the exact same thing and I gave you distance because back then I had no idea what to do, I didn’t know how to help you.” She remembers that it was very similar to the past 6 months, she closed herself off and avoided people at all costs.

“and then one night about a month after he had left, you rang me it was 3am but I answered anyway and I never told you that I was freaking out, thought you’d be mad that other then at school I hadn’t reached out to you. but the first thing you said to me was; ‘i couldn’t call anyone else because they’ve already said everything they can but I need you Farkle, I need your little genius brain to help me’ and I remember that in that moment I didn’t care what time it was I got out of that bed so fast and I was at your house in minutes.” she remembers that, the only thing he said to her was “I'll be there in 10” and true to his word he was. She rested her head on his shoulder, a place that once he got taller became very comforting for her.

“I showed up used the spare key under your mat and ran to your room faster than I've ever done when participating in any sport, and we sat staring out your window for 2 hours while I told you about all the different stars and galaxies and how big our universe is.” he turns his head to look up at the sky before he continues.

“not once did I mention your dad and you stopped crying after a few minutes, the next day you came back to school and you were feeling better and you started to move on. I know you still cried to Riley every now and then or rang me to tell you another fact about our sky, but you got better.” She's smiling now because Farkle has been one of her best friends since she was little and to know that he cares so much to still remember that years later makes her heart swell with love for him.

“so when this happened I did the same, every time you came to Smackles dorm and ended up in mine. I only saw you cry the first time because we got back into the same routine, you’d show up put your head on my shoulder and I'd tell you about space, or about anything really just to distract you for however long I could and then you’d leave again and we’d go back to normal when you weren’t there I'd message you every day and I would ring you at least once a week but we still never spoke about it and I liked that I could distract you from it for however long possible, that when you were with me you didn't feel like you had to explain yourself or tell me anything you’d already said 3 different times.” she didn't think she could love Farkle more than she did in that moment.

“I rang you almost everyday Farkle you know that. Thank You for always being there I couldn’t ask for a better friend than you. I love you Farkle.”

“You’re welcome and I love you too, but I know you have one more question” she sighed knowing she had to ask.

“Yeah I do, Why did you ignore Lucas for almost 2 Months once we started college? Zay told me.” She’d only known for a couple of weeks when she and Zay got drunk in her dorm room before they left and he spilled his guts about everything he’d spoken to Lucas about. She’d told all of them not to treat Lucas any differently because being in Texas was hard enough for him already.

“Because the first time you came to my dorm you were wearing his shirt and you had tears streaming down your face and you didn't stop crying for over half an hour as I spoke about the constellations and it broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to get on a plane to Texas and beat him up.” She laughed, Farkle wouldn’t have been able to hurt Lucas if he tried but the thought was there.

“Maya, I’ve known you since you were 5 and in that moment you came first. I love both of you but watching you cry and knowing that he was part of the reason opened something inside of me and I was mad. I only started talking to him again after I had seen you 2 more times and you didn’t cry because I figured if you were forgiving him so could i” 

“Thank You Farkle, I’m sorry that I was part of the reason you stopped talking to your best friend. I hope you can forgive me” she lifted her head to look at him as he turned to face her.

“I don't need to forgive you, I never blamed you for it, it was just something I felt I had to do” she knew they’d both said what they needed to by then. So they stood in comfortable silence until Farkle reached into his pocket pulling out his phone. 

“You want to see a photo?” she looked at him confused but said yes anyway as he opened his phone and pulled up his camera roll clicking on what he was looking for. 

It was a photo of her and Lucas from their midnight kiss similar to the one he’d taken of them on graduation day that was still Lucas’ wallpaper.

~Remind me how it used to be.  
Pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks.  
And say you want me.  
Yeah…~

She felt Lucas come up next to her and wrap an arm around her waist.

“what ya looking at short-stack?” he glanced down and saw the photo Farkle took. he just held her tighter and she could feel his grin grow on her shoulder where he was resting his head.

“I’ll send it to both of you, but I better go make sure Smackles first underage drinking experience doesn't end in disaster.” she turned to him as he put his phone away and kissed him on the cheek as a silent thank you before he walked away.

he turned and took a couple of steps backward but held eye contact before he winked and turned away to find Smackle. 

She turned around to face Lucas and he wrapped both his arms around her waist as she grabbed onto his biceps. Maya saw his smile and the light in his eyes and she was so so happy. she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and his head followed her as she pulled away. She smiled against his mouth but pushed him back. 

“What? that's all I'm getting?” he whined with a pout on his face. Maya laughed but she had to ask.

“Are you and Farkle ok? He says you are but I've come to know that sometimes he lies a little to protect me.” His face softened and his mouth pulled into a grin.

“We’re fine babe, I promise. better than ever.” She smiled leaning her forehead on his 

“and what about everyone else? you good with them too?” she knew it was just her over thinking things but she had to know that everything was gonna be okay. 

“Everything is great Maya” he moved his hands to hold onto her face. 

“I Promise.” he held her gaze “How are we?” he was smiling now and she felt calm and reassured. So she responded with 100% certainty 

“We’re absolutely perfect” So he leaned forward to give her a proper kiss this time because they were great and everything was so wonderful.

~And then you say,

"I want you for worse or for better (for worse or for better),  
I would wait forever and ever,  
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together.  
I want you forever and ever.”~

Once everyone had gone home and it was going on 3am the six of them lay on the roof staring at the sky, so many years ago she would have told you that there were no stars over new york but tonight she could see all of them.

“Hey, Maya!” Farkle called from a couple of meters away where he was discussing the big bang with Smackle. He pointed up at a group of 6 Stars that she became familiar with so many years ago looking out her bedroom window. She knew where he was going with this.

“it's us!” she smiled looking around at everyone lying so close to her in a similar shape to the stars so far away from them yet just they felt so close.

“Thank you Farkle, for everything” she could feel Lucas move closer to her and reach for her hand

“Any Time Maya, absolutely any time” he smiled back at her before turning to smackle to continue their in-depth conversation about how we all ended up here in this moment.

Maya rolled over so her head was on Lucas’s chest and his arm was around her waist. Zay and Riley weren't too far away either, they had a little more distance between them but she could see Zay reach out for Riley’s hand.

“Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to watch the ball drop or explore a different city on new years” Riley starts

“but its moments like this that I realize I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on this earth than on this roof with you five idiots” everyone laughed but they all knew how true that statement was. Lucas turned to her and looked her dead in the eye before he responded.

“No matter what happens in the next year, nothing will change the fact that if in a year were all lying on the roof top half drunk at 3am, it will have all been worth it”

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl.  
Oh.~

She knows he was referring to all of them but the way he held her eye contact the entire time made it feel so personal. Smackle spoke up then, some of the alcohol she had wearing off.

“Did you know that even as the universe expands, everything in the galaxies stay together. The force of the expansion isn't enough to overcome the comparably strong gravitational attraction holding together galaxies. So if you think about it, in a way, no matter how old we get or how many changes we go through and milestones we have there is nothing that could overcome our small little galaxy we've created for ourselves. so much so that not even the universe could pull us apart, it tried and it only got as far as Texas before we found our way back to each other.” Out of all the incredible concepts, she’s ever heard smackle discuss this is the one that makes so much sense to Maya and its the one that even Science hasn’t quite figured out yet. 

Smackle had stunned everyone into silence, even Zay didn't know how to respond to that. Maybe that was all that needed to be said for now.

So they sat in silence and they waited, Riley, Zay, Farkle and Smackle fell asleep at some point but Maya and Lucas were wide awake. Just being together, now that they could.

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl.  
Oh.~

Maya had rolled over at some point to be lying completely on top of him with her head on Lucas’ chest and his hand running through her hair. She was content with the fact that they’d been lying under the night sky with no noise other her night playlist playing softly in the background and her and Lucas talking softly about everything and nothing. At around 6 they started to properly hear the city come back to life with cars consistently traveling past which began to wake the others up.

Maya was stuck in her bubble with Lucas. the world could have fallen down around them and she wouldn’t have cared because he was here, he was safe and she was in his arms. That's when she asked

“have you sorted out who’s dorm you’ll be in yet? you might get a dud and regret coming back” he laughed and she could feel his stomach and chest move as he did. she was to focused on him to hear Zay walk over until he spoke.

“oh yeah he's sorted it out and he definitely will regret it once he hears my snoring.”

“What? I thought you shared a dorm with Wyatt still?” she swore Wyatt was still in his dorm last time she was there, although there was a weirdly small amount of stuff on his side of the room when she went in the night before holidays.

“yeah, well when Lucas decided to transfer they were going to put him in a dorm by himself so he offered it to Wyatt so we could share.”

“I think Wyatt was pretty pleased after dealing with Zay’s snoring for almost 4 months.” she was more aware now and could hear as Riley replied, getting up to walk over and sit on the other side of her. She felt a little out of the loop now and Lucas could tell, He rested his hand on the small of her back and reached with his other hand to lift her chin up to look at him.

“‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that everything was happening but I was worried you would freak out. I couldn’t loose you again”

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl.  
Oh.~

“I know, It's okay” she did and it was because they could talk about all of this now he could tell her all of his plans now that he was back in the city, they could do everything she planned to do before she knew he was leaving.

“now that you’re here nothing else matters,” she said it and she meant it, everything was slowly falling back into place and this time the only thing she could feel breaking were the walls she built when he left.

Smackle and Farkle slowly woke up and as they walked over she sat up and Lucas moved around behind her so she was sitting between his legs and he could rest his head on her shoulder.

They all sat together watching the sun rise their little galaxy together once again. As the colors started to fill the sky and New York saw the light of day she couldn't help but break the silence.

“This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen” she wasn't just referring to the sunrise she meant all of them together too. Lucas agreed.

“It really is stunning” but he wasn’t looking at the sunrise she could feel his chin facing her and his gaze on her face as he moved a stray piece of hair to behind her ear.

~And that's how it works  
It's how you get the girl, girl.  
Oh. ~

They all knew they weren't the centre of the universe, they knew that tomorrow and the next day and whatever comes after that, their existence in the grand scheme of things was fairly insignificant, but to each other they were so important and the significance they held in each others heart was something that they couldn’t overlook or take for granted. 

Maya turned to face Lucas as the world lit up, she could see the love in his eyes and she could hear it in his words beyond them themselves but in the feeling behind them

“I love you, I really love you” he smiled at her leaning in and kissing her quickly because now it was time for all of them, but they still had their little bubble. she took an intake of breath before responding

“I love you, to the moon and back” she smiled before turning to look around at everyone

“I love all of you, more than I ever thought I was capable of.” There was an outpour of agreement and “I love you too” from all different directions and the were all content in the moment. She closed her eyes, realizing that soon it would have been 24 hours since she’d had any sleep. Even with the noise of New York and the light of a new day she could feel herself drifting off and The last thing she heard before falling asleep was Lucas whisper in her ear.

“I'm here maya, I'm not going anywhere”

~That's how it works.  
That's how you got the girl.~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I'll continue this after this chapter or not but I have a few ideas of drabbles that may fit into this universe about when Lucas gets to NYU. So we'll see what happens.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this xx


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